Against Me!

Interview with Andrew Seward of Against Me! October 30, 2005. Interview by Matt Fradkin, photos by Scott Toepfer.

San Diego Punk: How was Oahu?

Andrew Seward: Oahu was great, I don't want to use the word disappointed, but none of us have ever been to Hawaii before and I really wish we would have taken the initiative to go to another island. Like the actual island of Hawaii or Maui or something like that because we were basically stuck in

Against Me! (photo: Scott Toepfer)
Waikiki which is like being in a weird LA. But it was still awesome because I just drank sugary alcoholic drinks and went on the beach. I did get to go to Hanoi bay, I think that's what it's called, and went snorkeling and had like a panic attack, I was like, "Why am I breathing underwater!!!" But then I just relaxed for ten minutes and I got it. And the show was fun too which I guess should be the main thing.

SDP: Actually I was referring to how on your tour journal you saw lots and lots of fish.

A: Oh you actually read that.

SDP: Oh yeah I do my research, trying not to ask you the same questions. But along the same lines how was Alaska?

A: Alaska was amazing. I kinda prefer the more, I don't think rugged is really the word, just not much city like. I just rented a car and drove around other parts of Alaska.

Against Me! (photo: Scott Toepfer)

SDP: See any glaciers?

A: No, didn't see any glaciers, but saw some ice fields, you know kinda looks like batman shit like in Batman Begins. I went down to Seward which is my last name. Went to a real dingy bar and John our roadie and Kent went with me. Went to the sea life center and shit like that. Saw sea lions.

SDP: It's funny how you mention your last name because it was because of a misspelling in my last name I found out about you guys. When google came out I googled my last name but spelled it wrong and I got Fridkin, like Dustin, but besides the point when I further

investigated you guys it was soo refreshing to hear something that was so much more "punk" than anything else I have really heard for a long time.

A: Well, the whole like, who knows what the fuck is "punk", I mean is it tap tap tap fuck fuck fuck fuck police? I mean I don't think so, some of that is punk but it's more about how you live your life and that I'm my own boss and that may be more punk than anything.

SDP: Well maybe "punk" was a bad choice. A better description would probably be more "real". You guys are the most real thing I've heard in a long time.

A: Well thanks I take that as a very high a compliment.

SDP: And you can definitely see that progression of your realness through your records. And I know you guys say all your songs are up for interpretation, what do you think of the interpretation that Reinventing Axl Rose was kind of a blue print of what you guys wanted Against Me! to become. Then …As The Eternal

 Against Me! (photo: Scott Toepfer)
Cowboy was saying, "ok we did it, we are the band we wanted to be", and the new record, Searching for a Former Clarity is somehow saying, "Well now that we are here how do we keep true to ourselves and not turn into something Against Me! was never supposed to become?" What do you think of this assumption?

A: Well I completely agree. I joined the band maybe three and half years ago and I was a fan of the band before that, I used to play in bands in Tennessee and those bands played with Against Me! long story short that's how I know them. And that's actually a really good interpretation and I agree with you, and the fact that I guess we are a "real" band; we don't write the same record over and over again. But you can still tell it's us, if that makes any sense. I mean we are growing up age wise and life experience wise and a lot of things, we don't want to do the same thing over and over again, I mean we want to do the same ethical and right thing. But we're also like, we still get shit, which we don't care about, I swear to god, but we have guys that are like, "Hey dude come play in my basement!" And I'm like, "Dude we just played two shows in a day man, I'm tired." "Oh you piece of shit sellouts." "Buddy I am physically tired, it's not like I don't wanna come over and hang out, I don't actually know you and I need to get some fuckin' sleep." And people, I mean it's kinda short sided on some people's behalf's we, once again the "real" thing, we pretty much are the most normal people you'll ever meet. Like if we're tired we're cranky. If we're drunk we're lively. There's no ego or pretentiousness it's just four guys who got extremely lucky.

SDP: That's a really good way to put it.

A: Let's just put it this way, I hope we play together extremely well. And I think we do. It's all we actually know how to do.

SDP: First time I saw you guys you played with Anti-Flag for the Death of a Nation tour at SOMA and all these message boarders were saying how, "Oh just you wait for Against Me! they are going to bring the place down" and of course like most people I was like, what are you talking about, c'mon. But bam you guys did tear that place a new one. And then last year you played Epicentre with the Blood Brothers, and there was maybe at most 100 people in the audience and again you guys tore that place down and again it was just amazing. So I guess my question is what do you guys bring to your stage show that no other band can really bring the same way that you do.

Against Me! (photo: Scott Toepfer)

A: I wouldn't say we do anything differently. We don't actually think about it. It's just something that's natural. And if I'm not going for it as hard as I can, I don't want to be there. I can't really speak for the other guys but I'm sure they are in the same boat. If I'm not like a drenched rat after the show I did something wrong.

SDP: I can attest to that drenched ratness last time you picked me up over your back and oh man I felt that drenched ratness. But it was a good thing.

A: Hopefully I didn't smell that bad. I smell like pure human salt.

SDP: More like pure rock sweat.

A: I guess then I'm gonna start bottling it and selling it at Macy's as Essence of Rock.

SDP: I'd buy it. Now I don't want to beat a dead horse about the whole sellout thing. But to me its amazing to think that people all over think that by signing to Fat, like California's underground indie/punk label, that doing that is selling out. I went to visit my friend's radio show at WNUR radio in Chicago and I kept picking Fat bands to play and they were like no we don't play that shit here, but then I pulled you guys out and they were like fuck ya we love Against Me!. So what makes it that you guys are so much more accepted on both coasts and in between than most other Fat bands?

A: Well we are from the east coast. We are sixty miles from I-95 your brother of I-5. But I think it's maybe that we don't sound like anything on Fat, but I guess that's a bit of a misconception. And I hope that this tour, like none of these bands... Well lets go from the fact like 5 years ago when you thought Fat you thought Lagawagon, Snuff, bands like that, real pop-punk California sounding, and I am being real stereotypical now too, but if you said that now, that is not the case at all. The Soviettes and the rest are coming from way different places than California. Um, well there has always been Propagandhi, Avail, Dillinger Four, a shit ton of bands who have always gotten shit for going to Fat. But it's also been a good thing because it is a great label. The people who run treat everyone with respect and they treat them well. And you know what I mean, we don't sound like Lagwagon. That's not a bad thing or a good thing it's just that no bands are supposed to sound the same if you ask me.

SDP: Which leads me to my next question: You were saying how you don't really sound like anything on Fat is supposed to sound like-

A: Stereotypically

SDP: Right stereotypically is supposed to sound like, is this FAT TOUR 2005 supposed to bring in the new class and new sounds of Fat Wreck? And open more people up to what Fat is doing right now?

A: Nothing is ever that intentional. This tour just came about because we were going to go on tour anyways, I mean that's all we do. And we knew that this one was going to be like double the insane tour that we normally do double the insanity.
We've played with the Soviettes and we've toured a bunch with Smoke or Fire so we're friends with both of them. So we thought of them and then someone at Fat thought of the Epoxies and all of a sudden it became the FAT TOUR 2005. It really wasn't that

Against Me! (photo: Scott Toepfer)
preconceived, I'd like to think it wasn't that preconceived unless someone was pulling everyone's strings at the right time.

SDP: So like any tour, this one came with none other than van troubles.

A: Oh yea over there is the new van.

SDP: The RV Cruise America one?

A: No the one behind it, the van van. Excuse me for a second [Andrew is excused to talk with his wife] By the way, getting married will grow you the fuck up really really fast. Cause you're like wait a minute I'm not just a drunk moron, well I am a drunk moron, but I have to be a half way responsible drunk moron. I mean my wife is really understanding about everything. She grew up with all the guys in Hot Water Music, she knows how this stuff goes. She's seen them be married, engaged, divorced the whole gamut so, um yeah.

SDP: Well do you have a new name for the van yet?

A: Well my name, well its not the Cruise America or the Dodge, it's the Chevy Express. We used to have a Dodge just like that and it was called the MothaFucka. But the MothaFucka got to be a bit old. So we decided to trade it in and get a new diesel van which should last us 'til we're not a band anymore. So we got a Ford diesel and it broke down at 12,000 miles. So (it was called) Fix Often Repair Daily. It broke down four times and the last time was in Iowa and it just stopped. So for the next week we had a minivan. Jordan, our dude, was getting a Penske truck trying to get all our gear to the different shows and were just borrowing other people's stuff and playing. But anyway the new name for that van that I say is Chevy Chevey Chase.

SDP: I think it's a keeper.

A: So if you put that in writing then it's on.

Against Me! (photo: Scott Toepfer)

SDP: So is there any national lampoonage going on in the van?

A: Wait Chevey Chevy Chase…Chevy Chevy…whatever it's a tongue twister.

SDP: True, but any national lampoonage moments? Like getting stuck in an elevator?

A: No that already happened. I would say the comedy of everything going wrong in a span of twenty four hours. My bass had broke, my phone broke, the van broke, so what the fuck did I do. It's time to go primate just throw everything away and ooga booga. And the people will be like you sell outs for using electricity.

SDP: So our time is almost up so, here are my last couple of questions: What is your favorite touring food?

A: Favorite touring food? Hmm, Mexican…no no switch. Sushi, three hours before I play, which I just had.

SDP: Any particular roll?

A: I really like the Philadelphia and I like just a straight cucumber roll. With not to much wasabi on it and soy sauce.

SDP: Good choice. And now the usual interviewing question: Are you guys going to play "Tonight We Are Going to Give It 35%"?

A: No.

SDP: Good answer

A: If you want the story, I think we've played that song four times total live and that was right after it came out. I think that song is, I wouldn't say dead is the right word, but it's a bit personal and I didn't write the lyrics.

SDP: Well it's a damn good song anyway.

http://www.againstme.net
http://www.fatwreck.com

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